For slightly tenuous reasons, posts on the old blog for Thetford Engineering often referenced literary works of Alasdair Gray and a new arrival at the workshop occasions a return to this tradition.
Bristol cars are always welcome guests at the workshop and the eponymous and unlikely Bristol 405 which is the subject of this post is no exception. This is an early example of the 405 and dates from the time at which Mr. Gray himself was still a student and Elizabeth II had been Queen of England for only three years. Bristol cars were of superb design, build quality and finish however this particular car will need some attention to detail before it resembles the example for which the lucky first owner was handed the keys in May 1955
The current state of partial disassembly gives away that this is an abandoned project, one which was discovered previously in Ireland sans engine or gearbox before it was subsequently returned to England. A prior owner managed to locate a correct Bristol 100B2 engine in the Isle of Man which arrived and turned out to be the original engine for this exact car. How likely is this? Well the small volume of Bristol production predicates that the likelihood is higher than could be expected of most marques however this must surely still be a fairly unlikely story. Mostly.
Despite best attempts from the menace of the years the 405 arrives with the Bristol mystique fully intact and has successfully inspired all hands present to turn towards its restoration.
We must return at the end of this post to Alasdair Gray whose famous aphorism, “work as if you live in the early days of a better nation” may well become a mantra for all involved.